Saint Mary's will continue their search for a second MIAA Conference victory when it faces Kalamazoo this Saturday in Kalamazoo, Mich.
"Just like Calvin and Albion, we know that Kalamazoo is one of the better teams in the conference and they play like it," junior captain Camille Gebert said.
The Belles (6-7, 1-2 MIAA) got their first conference win at the expense of Alma earlier in the season, but tough losses against Calvin and Albion have set them back since then.
"Our match against Albion last Saturday was very disappointing," Gebert said. "We should have won, and it was an important conference match for us."
Despite a disappointing overall record, Saint Mary's has some momentum coming off Wednesday's win over cross-town rival Bethel College.
"We played Bethel, which was a solid win for us," Gebert said. "We have been down lately, and a win was crucial to our overall confidence."
Even after the win against Bethel College, this weekend's match proves to be of utmost importance to the success of the remainder of the season.
"If we want any chance at a good draw for the conference tournament, we need to pull through with a win this Saturday," Gebert said.
As a team of all sophomores and one junior, the Belles boast a large amount of young talent.
"We need to work on our confidence in singles play," Gebert said.
At the forefront of the competition at this weekend's event will be the doubles tandem of Gebert and sophomore Jillian Hurley. Jessica Kosinski and Betsy Reed will hold down the No. 2 doubles spot for the Belles.
"It will be important to start strong and win at least two of the three doubles points," Gebert said.
Aside from delivering in both singles and doubles play, the Belles have a few other areas on which to work to secure the win on Saturday.
"We need to close matches, expand on leads, fight back from deficits - all the things we know how to do," Gebert said. "We must implement them into our match play."
